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Rating: Let's start with a consideration: in reality, I'm referring to the majority of people clearly (myself included), we know nothing about what Isis truly is. About what their actual origins, functioning, social, and organizational structures are (not only on the military level) of what has self-proclaimed itself as the 'Islamic State', or 'Dawlat al-'Islamiyyah', a name whose meaning would derive directly from what would be a realization of Sunni Islam in its most rigorous version - and among other things at least formally coinciding with what would then be the state religion in Saudi Arabia and the emirate of Qatar and the same ideology that inspires the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban and all manifestations of Al Qaeda. Of which, it is good to clarify immediately, Isis does not constitute an extension, branch, or continuation. The operations and purposes of the two terrorist organizations are different in many respects, and after all, perhaps it could not be otherwise, considering that time passes and things, all things, change. Even if this leads to fear, it is primarily precisely this type of organization that in the end does not pretend that, for what concerns the appearance, would found their bases on what would be secular structures that today would have no sense of existence.
'I chose to live in hell' (Imprimatur publisher, 2016), despite my introduction, as necessary as it is perhaps misleading about the specific contents of the work, is not intended to be exactly what we might define as an essay that responds in detail to the doubts and questions I mentioned previously. This is although the text is by necessity a documented and competent work, where there are also historical references to how the phenomenon was born, what its ideological bases are, and how it eventually became a concrete reality in the Middle East, which Europe and what we call the Western world must contend with. A work that also features important collaborations and testimonies, two postscripts written respectively by journalist Simona Ciniglio and Arabist Rosemary Fanelli, as well as an introduction by Edward N. Luttwak, a character which I have never loved due to his political and ideological stances and his arrogant nature which, in a format like talk shows, often become real brawls, inevitably ends up being amplified. Nonetheless, however, historically a knower of everything that happens in that part of the world and of the revealed and unrevealed backstories involving the usual USA and that here, concisely and punctually, does not hold back in a fair condemnation of Isis and in launching what appears to be a pointed jab against the so-called 'rogue states' like Saudi Arabia, historically linked with a relationship with the USA that we cannot define as anything but at least controversial.
Written by the journalist and writer Simone Di Meo, who mostly deals with current events in a complex city like Naples, where writing about organized crime and court chronicles is, as he himself defines it, a real 'gym', something terribly difficult by necessity; this book is not an essay nor a historical and analytical reconstruction of the facts. And it does not pretend to be one either. Yet it is an incredibly current text rich with content that is somehow new or at least rarely (almost never) argued by the media. Provided that Di Meo knows very well what he is writing about, having already written about Isis ('The Caliphate's Woman Soldier', Imprimatur publisher), the narrative in what we might define as an interview book, 'Confessions of an Isis Terrorist', is entrusted to what was in all respects an active member, reaching even a good position within its military structures, of the organization from 2011-2012 until when, in 2015 thanks to fortunate, in a certain way unique circumstances (getting out is something very very difficult) and the support of American secret services with the partnership of the intelligence forces of a Western and European country of which he cannot for obvious reasons name, he managed to get out of all this horror. What he himself wanted to define as hell on earth.
The story that Bechir, this is the name of the protagonist and the narrator of events, and who himself declares he told on the suggestion of what would become his wife Aicha, the woman who followed him to hell and back and with whom he still lives in a state of existence where, however, it seems impossible to reconcile with something that means 'love', begins unexpectedly on what is a soccer field. Which then is where almost all boys until they become young men and then maybe as adults, just like Bechir, professional soccer players, chase more than the ball what is somehow a real materialization of a kind of dream. Something that could sometimes even coincide with the pursuit of happiness. A happiness that, without wanting to fall into easy and certainly abused sports rhetoric, was missing all their life for many of these footballers, just like Bechir, who reach the highest levels through sacrifices and after a life of hardships and a violent past. And that evidently can continue to be lacking even after if it's true that, unable to place himself somehow in society's structures and erase a harsh past and childhood made of poverty and violence, Bechir, convinced by the strong charisma of a former teammate who had already joined the Islamic State, suddenly and without thinking too much, drops everything and leaves for Syria.
I would spare the detailed descriptions of the acts of violence in their particular execution and the organizational modalities concerning Bechir's recount. The so-called 'action scenes'. This is not for disinterest or little relevance, on the contrary, but these are objectively things that the daily chronicle also recounts in some way, just as the grave situation in which women are forced to live, either by will and choice or more frequently, in most cases because forced, kidnapped, seized or deceived or perhaps simply because they know no alternatives, are made part of what is defined as the Islamic State and regarded and treated as property, as goods, clearly regardless of their age. Very often, after all, we are talking about what are real girls. Figures, because we cannot at this point speak of 'women' given that everything regarding their humanity is literally suppressed, and that ideally, this social structure would pretend to preserve, but who are practically forced into a state of slavery that is primarily psychological.
Instead, I would focus on three points which I consider somewhat 'unprecedented', because they do not constitute the usual material fed to western media, nor to other parts of the world anyway, obviously much more interested for audience reasons in recounting scandalous facts, the almost pedantic repetition of situations and schemes aimed at delineating in front of what we might define as their audience a real idea of 'Isis', which proceeds instead in what could be a true analysis of the state of things going to the heart of the matter.
The first thing that strikes, proceeding in a kind of chronological order of events, is that apparently joining the militias or the organization (many may not be considered fit for military actions but are not for this rejected but employed in various levels of administrative sectors) of the Islamic State seems as simple as it is then difficult, if not impossible, to leave. Bechir, who in the end in his life has never been what could be defined as a fundamentalist, who does not even constitute a border-line figure because he grows up in disadvantaged situations but over time manages to emancipate himself culturally and socially, in a negative phase of his life, succumbs practically to what is a kind of courtship via email from a former teammate of his, Nidhal Selmi, a particularly charismatic figure and a former great promise of Tunisian football and of the Etoile Sportive du Sahel of which the news spoke a lot two years ago on the occasion of his death. His choice is sudden and, who knows, perhaps also because referred, his entry into this world happens without particular trauma. Indeed. Quickly and by virtue of his physical and athletic abilities besides the fact he has a cultural and social formation and discipline and in a context where most militiamen are clearly made up mostly of people who have no notion of any kind, he also reaches a high position within the structures.
Then the fundamental role of social media and media in general, high-level propaganda. Forget Bin Laden and his improvised video tapes as an insurgent from inside a cave. What follows the militias of Isis are real film crews (with those who are real specialists coming from every corner of the world). The life of every militia member is followed and documented at every moment and action until the moment of his death, where his face is shown on camera forcibly smiling in a manner I would consider iconoclastic and that precisely for this should be far from the logics of Islam.
Similarly, we already mentioned, the role of social media is central both in propaganda (all these films circulate and are distributed on all major social media channels) and in the recruitment of militiamen from around the world and also and especially concerning the 'enlistment' of women at the service of the Islamic State. Dozens, hundreds of militia Facebook profiles are directly managed by women of the Islamic state (evidently less crude than the classic bearded militia members), who literally, pretending to be romantic revolutionaries devoted to a great cause, seduce these more or less young women convincing them to join a cause that in reality does not exist and to clear the field of any misunderstanding, it only pretends to have a reason and foundational religious bases. Because religion here is irrelevant: Isis is clearly something deviant. A real kingdom dominated by violence and that opposite to how it may seem, boasts an organization internally meticulous in every aspect. This even in regards to the transfer of women mentioned earlier from their home country to Syria.
The Islamic State is not something improvised. It has its own real, rigid administrative structure. It is also organized on an accounting level, its finances made prosperous by 'seizures', the sale of artworks via the internet and illicit activities, international businesses of enormous proportions starting from trafficking and trade of oil to drugs and up to a sub-culture that can include the sale of group rape videos. An impeccable administrative structure, then, which also boasts what can be defined as a particular accounting including a meticulous and detailed report of every military operation and its organization, execution, results, both for a propagandistic purpose (besides statistical), as if wanting to summarize the fruit of one's work, but also for the purpose of improving and differentiating the typology of attacks. Which is, as known, another characteristic of Isis.
All these aspects, I repeat, are recounted from within and by someone who had an important active role in the militias and that as such enjoyed benefits, but who at the same time certainly held no power, in the sense that he was not one of the leading, the big bearded ones. Nonetheless, and without getting too carried away on an emotional level, his direct testimonies outline what is a structure devoid of any democratic moral, social content and cultural, yet in its own way endowed with efficient, functional, even impeccable organization and strong of a tool, propaganda, which in combination with the use of violence and the massive presence of military personnel, constitutes something deviant and in its own way unassailable from within. In this sense, making a parallel with what was the horror and madness of Nazism is not something wrong, but that probably will be taken seriously only when. A. The suits of being in a war of religions will completely stop, something that always and anyway constitutes an easy alibi for everyone. Isis is iconoclastic, on the religious level constituted on a caste system that then coincides with those who hold power, the Islamic State can be considered something very close to Hitler's dream of Aryan purity. A mission that has contents laden with violence and hatred transcending the 'faith' and beliefs of anyone. Moreover, the first to bear the consequences are the inhabitants of the occupied places. Isis bases its strength on economic power, illegal trade, and propaganda, but above all on weapons. In this sense, yes, renewing a centennial tradition of arms and violence in the Middle East which continues in some instances to still have supporters of every political affiliation. B. The Western world and Europe, in particular, will realize that addressing this issue and particularly in unraveling various internal knots in social and security matters, is something that in growth and strengthening processes, enriching cultural heritage and functioning of the EU is necessarily a key step. Something fundamental also in creating a healthy and constructive relationship, reciprocally, with what are the Arab states facing the Mediterranean and which have always been our neighbors and with which we share and shared a lot throughout history and this even before monotheistic religions were discussed. Take a significant stance on the matter and also relying on international diplomatic relations and intelligence operations, therefore isolating the Islamic State, presenting it to everyone for what it really is, but doing so here needs the EU to adopt unique and shared policies regarding foreign policy.
The third aspect, after all, concerns precisely the trading activities that the Islamic State carries out with the countries bordering it. The fundamental one is obviously still that of oil, to which must clearly be added the immense and incalculable business linked to the trade of drugs. There is a sentence mentioned by Bechir in the book in this regard where he declares that Isis would have defeated Europe with the money earned by selling them their own 'shit'. Even if here it must be emphasized how in fact the use of drugs among all Isis adherents is practically a real rule.
How does oil and drugs enter from the Islamic State into neighboring countries and particularly in Europe? How involved are the EU institutions, intelligence services, and/or criminal organizations operating within individual countries, and how can a serious battle concerning checks and policy activities in the domestic administration of individual states be effective in this regard? Facts say that what is being done today is absolutely not sufficient, if not practically useless, while it is also evident that a strong collective communal choice could perhaps change the cards on the table in this sense and deal a hard blow to the finances and ambitions of the Islamic State. Regarding this aspect, which is central both to the future of the Islamic State and the entire EU, being this a confession book, a direct testimony of Bechir, narrated and guided by the skill of Simone Di Meo, for obvious security reasons and also evidently useful for operational purposes for the intelligence forces, but probably also due to what could be knowledge limits on the issue of Bechir himself (whom we cannot necessarily consider aware of all the backstories and international implications of the case), all that is contained in the book pertains, besides the author's considerations of the facts, the mere narrative of the development of this type of operations conducted directly by Bechir personally and where in truth he himself would seem to somehow convey a sense of uncertainty and insecurity regarding the conditions in which he found himself operating. Sensations which by necessity made and have made him only a cog in a machine which then is a puzzle so big and difficult to understand in all its aspects. And then welcome literary operations like this, where the writer and the reader are almost by necessity led to even empathize with the direct narration of the facts and make this aspect and this empathy an important key to understanding the phenomenon precisely in its most elementary aspects. Which are not for this any less relevant. On the contrary.
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